Life & Political Lessons From Holy Week

People who have known me the longest are fully aware of my history with religion. I was born into a Catholic family who attended mass on a weekly basis and were heavily involved in the church and I was no different. The week after I made my First Holy Communion I trained and became an Altar Server and continued to be involved in the church as a teenager. However, I had a deep loss of faith after my father died in 2001. After feeling sad, upset and lost, those feelings turned to anger after my father’s passing – anger that my father had not only left me but also my mother. As a young man I also had questions about my faith and instead of turning to it in times of need, I distanced myself from the church – after all how easy is it to think that if something good happens, it’s because God wanted it that way but if something bad happens, well God works in mysterious ways and it was just not meant to be?

Even during the years I spend away from the church, it was never a case of God not existing and the Bible not being true. I was just unhappy with God’s will and also the way the church acted. However, a couple of years ago I returned to the Catholic Church to find peace and also to find the answers I was looking for. I cannot claim to have found all the answers because I believe it is a lifelong journey, but now faith is one of the most important things in my life and I can honestly say I would be lost without it. When Conservatives look at America today, I believe they have a similar feeling to when my dad passed – sad, upset and dismay. Why is America abandoning Liberty and Freedom? Why do Americans not respect the Founding Fathers and the Constitution? Why is the most successful country in the world abandoning the principles that made it great and instead implementing principles of Europe and other socialist countries? The Liberal agenda is never ending and they will not stop until government controls every aspect of your life and Conservatives and the American People need to get proactive. It would be extremely easy to just get frustrated about the situation America is currently in, spending the day complaining and giving out about how unfair everything is, and turning away from America’s Founding Principles. However now is NOT the time to abandon the principles that made America the GREATEST COUNTRY IN THE WORLD.

This week is Easter Week and in the Catholic Church we mourn the crucifixion of Jesus Christ and celebrate his resurrection three days later. Ronald Reagan put it best in his 1983 Easter address “Both observances tell of sacrifice and pain but also of hope and triumph”. There is no doubt America is going through pain right now and has a lot of problems to face. So who has the answers? The answer to that question is the same as what made America great in the first place? THE AMERICAN PEOPLE! The answers lie with the American people, not with the government, not with the President and not with your local representative regardless of what letter is beside their name. America is going through pain right now, but if the American people rise up and take their country back, it WILL be triumph again.

One man I look up to is Mark Levin because he has taught me so much through his radio show and books and also helped me professionally by supporting our site (which is a debt I will never be able to repay). I spoke with him on Thursday night and told him how he had changed my outlook on Conservatives and the role we need to play. About six weeks ago he played a clip from Ronald Reagan at the RNC 1992 where he said, “No matter what else is said about me in history, I hope it will remember that I appealed to your best hopes, not your worst fears, to your confidences rather than your doubts.” Conservatives and the Tea Party are calling out and yearning for a leader, a leader who will not only lead them, but also inspire them and inspire America. It is too easy to just criticize President Obama, the Democrats and the current Republican leadership. We need to explain the principles behind their ideas, why they are wrong, how they contrast with our principles which are the founding principles, and to set out our clear vision for the future of America.

Right now the two main parties in Washington are the same – both competing to give the most benefits away and also fighting to control every aspect of your life. Washington needs to be shaken up. Washington works for the people; the people do not work for Washington. The Liberal agenda supported by Republicans right now is one any solid Conservative should be able to argue against and the simple truth is, if you cannot argue against this tyranny of government today, you cannot argue against any tyranny. The answer to tyranny is not less tyranny, its liberty and freedom and when communicated effectively, that message cannot be beaten. When you look at the countless laws and regulations the government issues, ask yourself two questions – what right do they have to issue them and where do they get their power? What right does Mayor Bloomberg have to tell anyone what size soda they can have? He has NONE, because you are a free person and you have the right to self-determination and you should not let anyone tell you any different or stand in your way.

I hope that if you are a Christian, you will take this day to reflect on the miracle of Jesus’ resurrection. But even if you’re not, use the fact that we’re celebrating triumph, to inspire you that there is hope for America to triumph again. Use this weekend as time for pause and reflection and think of ways you can get involved and speak out against the tyranny of this government and administration, because if the American people surrender or have doubts over the future, then the future is already lost. We have to believe America’s best days are ahead of her. I know they are, DO YOU?